Sieve-cleaner for grain-separators.



No. 816,821. PATENTED APR. 3, 1906. F. PRINZ. SIEVE CLEANER FOR GRAIN SEPARATORS. APPLICATION FILED "MAY 5. 1905.

s SHEETSSHBET 1.

INVENTOR 4 A [fol lie y 1 H g 1; L I

W/TNESSES PATENTED APR. 3, 1906.

I. PRINZ. v SIEVE CLEANER FOR GRAIN SEPARATORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY5. 1905.

3 SHBETSSHEET 2.

PATENTED APR. 3

F. PRINZ. SIEVE CLEANER FOR GRAIN SEPARATORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAYfi; 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR M 4 k Az'zomey W/YYVESSES:

FAU'STIN PRINZ, OF MILWVAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

SlE'VE-CLEANER FOR GRAlN-SEPARATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. April 3, 1996.

Application filed May 5, 1905. Serial No. 258,932.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FAUSTIN PRINZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of WVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SlQVG'QlE-ELIIGIS for Grain-Separators; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to grain-cleaning machines; and it has for its main object to provide a construction of scraper for keeping clean the sieves of the machine and which will offer the minimum of obstruction to the meshes of the screen or do damage to the scraper.

To the accomplishment of the object mentioned the invention consists, primarily, in

providing a scraper capable of rotation as it is moved over the screen, so that when it comes in contact with an obstruction it will rotate to a greater or less extent, and thus pass over the obstruction without pulling or forcing against it to an extent to injure the screen or the scraper.

It further consists in providing a rotatable scraper capable of vertical movement in its rotation, so that it may rise and fall to cona form to irregularities and obstructions and bear with a yielding pressure against the sieve, and thus more efliciently perform its work.

It further consists in providing a rotatable scraper capable of lateral as well as of vertical movement, so as to further promote the efficiency of the scraper.

It further consists in a scraper comprising blades disposed on opposite sides of its axis of rotation, so as to bear upon the screen at oppositely-disposed lines, thereby steadying the scraper in its movement over the screen.

It further consists in a scraper comprising a plurality of blades so dis osed about its axis Of rotation that as one b ade is moved from contact with the screen another will be brought into contactwith the screen. if i i It further consists in ascraper comprising blades disposed longitudinally of the of the scraper, with intervening spaces, portions of one blade being opposite the spaces of an other blade. 'i i i It further consists in a scraper comprising blades formed with openings for the pa; of material therethrough. i It further consists other features hereinafter made to appear. Figure 1 is a side elevation of so much ,ofa machine as is necessary to show the invert} tion; Fig. 2, a plan view of a portion of the same; Fig. 3, a vertical cross-section of the machine; Fig. 4, a side view of a scraper with parts in section and partly broken away; 5, a cross-section through the same; Fig.',6,a n end view Fig. 7, a plan view, p'artlyin sec tion and with parts broken away, of a modification; Fig. 8 a vertical cross section through three sieves, with portions broken away, of the modification. i

In the accompanying drawings the numeral 1 designates the posts .or frame .of th e machine, in which is suspended, so as to vibrate,

- a shoe 2, which contains one or more screens or sieves 3, which shoe and screens may beolf any approved pattern and which may be vibrated by any of the well-known means common for the purpose. h The scraper or rubber for keeping clearthe meshes of the sieve or screen comprises ,a spindle or shaft 4, extending above the sieve and at one end connected by a set-screw 5 or otherwise to a sleeve 6, mounted upon a rail 7, so as to be free to travel thereon, ,and lield thereto by split pins 8 or otherwise; I eterably in such manner as to turn thereon, so that the spindle may swing "overlthe ,s'gievje, and which spindle or shaft will Carry the other parts of the scraper. Upon this shaft is revolubly mounted a number of blades 9, extending longitudinally of the axispf the IOO shaft, each blade preferably, but not necessaagainst obstructions and whereby, also, the heft of the scraper will exert itself on the sieve and under a yielding pressure. This also enables the blades to have a more or less lateral play at an angle to their vertical movement, which will cause the blades to yield when coming against an obstruction, and thus avoid doing injury to either the sieve or the scraper. These blades are disposed on opposite sides of the shaft 4 or its axis of rotation, so as to bear upon the screen at oppositely-disposed lines, and preferably at an inclination, thereby steadying the scraper and the better adapting it to slide as it is moved over the surface of the screen. It will also be observed that the blades are so disposed that as one blade is moved out of contact with the sieve another is brought into contact. The blades longitudinally of the axis of the scraper are formed with intervening spaces 13, the spaces being so disposed that portions of one blade will be opposite the spaces of the next blade. Under this construction the width of the screen-surface will be covered by the two blades in contact with the sieve, and at the same time spaces will be formed for the passage or flow of material past the blades without the material crowding the scraper ahead, and hence a better flow and distribution of material over the screen is obtained. For the purpose of still further facilitating the flow of the material the portions of the blades which scrape the sieve are formed with openings 14, which will permit the material to flow through them, thus further reventing the crowding of the scrapers by t e material and causing less obstruction to the flow of the material by the scrapers.

It not infrequently happens that nails and bolts and other foreign substances mixed with the grain will lodge in the meshes of the sieve, and when the ordinary scraper comes in contact with it the scraper will pull on the obstruction, so as to be liable to tear or break the screen or damage the scraper. Under my present invention when the scraper-blade comes in contact with such abnormal obstruction the scraper rises upward and turns or rotates so that it passes over the obstruction, and another blade is immediately brought into contact with the sieve forward of the obstruction and in position to serve its scraping function, and in the return travel of the scraper when one of its blades comes in contact with the obstruction it will pass over it, as before. In this way injury to either the scraper or the sieve is prevented and yet an efficient cleaning of the sieve obtained. Under this construction the scraper can also be run at a higher speed without liability to push the material sidewise.

The rail 7, upon which travels the shaft or spindle 4, is supported at its opposite ends in suitable brackets 15 which in the form illusother wheel, and said chain has the scraper blade-carrying arm or rod 4 connected there to, so that as the sprocket-chain travels it will move the said rod or arm and its scraper or rubber back and forth over the surface of the screen. For the purpose of connecting the scraper-carrying shaft or arm 4 to the chain I have illustrated a flexible strap 19, which may be of leather or other suitable material, connected at one end to a sheave or thimble 20 on a spindle 21, riveted or otherwise secured to one link of the chain, the other end of the flexible strap being connected to the arm or shaft 4, either directly or by means of a thimble or sleeve 22, the connection of the two ends of the flexible strap to said parts being such that the strap may readily turn when passing from one plane to another as the chain travels around the sprocket-wheels. Under this construction when the scraper-blade-carrying arm reaches the end of its movement in one direction and the portion of the chain having the flexible strap connected thereto passes, say, from its lower plane around the sprocket-wheel and to its upper plane the flexible strap will be turned or shifted in place, so that as the chain continues in its travel the flexible strap will pull said arm or rod in the opposite direction, and thus carry the scraper-blade to the opposite end of the screen and thence back again as the chain and the flexible strap turn around the sprocket-wheel at the opposite end of the machine. In this way the scraper-blade is carried back and forth by the chain, and the scraper-blade sliding over the surface of the screen will clear the meshes of the screen. The shaft 16 of one of the sprocket-wheels 17 carries at its outer end a toothed wheel 23, with which meshes a worm 24 on a shaft 25, which is j ournaled in boxes 26, supported upon arms 27, supported by the box 15 of the bracket 15*, the shaft 25 having a sprocket-wheel 28 at its end, from which extends a chain 29 to a source from which it derives motion, so that through the arts mentioned the sprocket-wheel 17 may he revolved, so as to actuate the carryingchain 18, which carries the scraper or rubber back and forth over the screen.

In the event that a second screen is used in the vibrating shoe said screen is provided with a traveling scraper or rubber formed and operated in the same manner as the cor responding parts for the first sieve just described in detail, motion being transmitted to the carryingchain 18 of the second sieve said chain passing around a sprocket-wheelmean by means of a chain 30, which is driven from a sprocket-wheel 31, mounted on the outer end of the shaft 16 of the sprocket-wheel 17,

32 on the outer end of the shaft of one of the sprocket-wheels for the carrier-chain 18 of the second or lower sieve. If a third sieve should be employed, the construction and arrangement of the parts would be the same as already described, it only being necessary to add another sprocket-wheel to one of the shafts 16, so as to transmit motion from the sprocket-wheel shaft of the second sieve to the sprocket-wheel shaft of the third sieve, and so on according to the number of sieves used in the shoe, as will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art. It will thus be seen that where as cries of screens are employed in the vibrating shoe each sieve or screen will be provided with a scraper or rubber formed and operated in the same manner as the corresponding parts for the single or top sieve, the brackets and sprocket-wheels being the same for each sieve, with the single exception that to one of the sprocket-wheel shafts of the first sieve is applied the toothed wheel and the worm-wheel already described for the first sieve, such parts not being necessary for the other sieve, as the motion to the additional sieves of the series is transmitted from the top sieve, and so on to the succeeding sieves through the transmitting-power chains already described.

The inclined boards 33 are the ordinary boards for delivering the material to the upper end of each sieve as it is received from the hopper or delivered from the tail end of one sieve for transmission to the head end of the sieve next below.

In the modification shown in Figs. 7 and 8 I have illustrated a shoe with three sieves, and instead of employing the chain arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 3 I connect the scraper-shafts of the top and bottom sieves to the sleeve 34, which travels on the rail 7, by means of arms 35, said scraper-shafts having their outer ends forked and pivotally connected to said arms. The shaft of the scraper to the middle sieve is likewise pivotally connected to an ear 36, projecting from said sleeve, as shown in Fig. 8. Under this construction the scrapers of the three sieves are moved from the sleeve 34 by the connections mentioned. The sleeve is moved back and forth on its rail by the strap 19, connecting cured by a set-screw 39 or otherwise the sprocket-wheel 28, around which passes the drive-chain 29. This makes a simple and efficient construction for driving the parts and for some reasons is preferable to the worm and worm-wheel construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This same arrangement of bevelwheel and pinion may be substituted for and used instead of the worm and worm-wheel form in connection with the arrangement of power-transmitting chains illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings and may be employed whether one, two, or three sieves, more or less, be used. In the form illus trated in Fig. 8 all the scrapers in their back and-forth movement move together and in the same direction, which under the arrangement of Figs. 1 and 2 the scraper of one sieve moves in one direction, while the scraper of the other sieve moves in the opposite direction.

It may be stated that instead of connecting the scraper to the shaft 1 at the outer end of the shaft it may be connected thereto nearer the hinged end of the shaft by using the form of spacing-ring 10. It may also be mentioned that one of the brackets 15' may be adjustable on its support, so as to take up slack in the chain 18as, for instance, by

forming elongated holes 40 in one of the 5 brackets 15 as illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

I have illustrated and described what I consider to be the best form and arrangement of the several parts; but it is obvious that changes can be made without departing from the essential features of the invention.

It will be observed that the scraper normally slides and is non-rotatable, but that when its blade contacts with an obstruction held firmly in the mesh of the screen it then rotates or turns over, so as to pass over the obstruction and again assume position to slide over and scrape the surface of the screen or sieve. The play or movement of the scrapers about the spindle or supporting shaft permits or insures the comparatively easy and prompt turning of the scraper.

I-Iaving described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is 1. In combination, a sieve, and a scraper comprising blades disposed about the longitudinal axis of the scraper and capable of'rotation, said blades being adapted to normally rest and slide on the surface of the sieve and to turn over in meeting with resistance from an abnormal obstruction in the sieve-surface and means to slide the scraper over the sieve, substantially as described.

2. In combination, a sieve, and a revoluble scraper, capable of vertical movement about its longitudinally disposed shaft, substantially as described.

3. In combination, a sieve, and a revoluble scraper, capable of play laterally of its longitudinally-disposed shaft around which it is capable of revolving, substantially as described.

4. In combination, a sieve, and a scraper comprising blades so disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinally-disposed shaft of the scraper that at least two of the blades "will bear upon the screen at oppositely-dis posed lines to steady the scraper in its movement, substantially as described.

5. In combination, a sieve, and a scraperblade in contact with the sieve having a normally downward incline in the direction of its travel and adapted to be raised and turned to pass over an abnormal obstruction in the path of its travel when brought into contact with the obstruction, substantially as described.

6. In combination, a sieve, and a scraper comprising blades so disposed that at least two of the blades will rest on the sieve-surface on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the scraper, and formed with intervening spaces, portions of one blade being opposite the spaces of another blade, substantially as described.

7. In combination, a sieve, and a scraper comprising blades formed with openings through the scraping portion of the blades and so disposed that at least two of the blades will rest on the sieve-surface on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the scraper, substantially as described.

8. In combination, a sieve, and a slidable scraper normally non-rotatable in its movement over the sieve and capable of rotating about its horizontallydisposed axis when meeting with an abnormal obstruction and to pass over the obstruction, substantially as described.

9. In combination, a sieve, and a scraper comprising blades, and a shaft upon which they are mounted and toward and from which they are capable of movement transversely to the normal longitudinal axis thereof, substantially as described.

10. In combination, a sieve, and a scraper comprising blades, and a shaft upon which the blades are revolubly mounted and toward and from which they are capable of move ment transversely to the normal longitudinal axis thereof, substantially as described.

11. In combination, a sieve, a scraper, a rail with which the scraper is connected and along which it moves, brackets supporting shafts carrying sprocket-wheels, a chain connecting one sprocket-wheel with the other, a connection between said chain and the scraper, a bevel-wheel on the shaft of one of the sprocketwheels, a pinion mounted to mesh with said bevel-wheel, and a drivechain wheel actuating said pinion, said brackets supporting the guide-rail and the sprocket-chain and said power-transmitting wheels, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FAUSTIN PRINZ.

I/Vitnesses:

W. F. FILTER, J. P. MURPHY. 

